Netanyahu denies threatening to strike Iran in call with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday denied a New York Times report claiming that in the latest conversation between him and U.S. President Donald Trump, the prime minister had threatened to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

The office called the report "fake news."

The call between Trump and Netanyahu took place Thursday, following a shooting attack in Washington in which two Israeli embassy staff were killed.

According to a senior White House official, Trump told Netanyahu that he wants to reach a diplomatic solution with Iran and “does not want anything to interfere with that.” The official said Trump’s message to Netanyahu was that “this is not the time to escalate the situation while he is trying to resolve the issues.”

Trump emphasized to Netanyahu that “the second option is still on the table,” but he prefers to first see if a diplomatic solution can be reached. The senior White House official added that during the call, “President Trump encouraged Netanyahu to act cautiously.”

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Netanyahu has been threatening to upend Washington’s talks with Tehran by striking Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities, quoting officials briefed on the situation.

“The clash over how best to ensure that Iran cannot produce a nuclear weapon has led to at least one tense phone call between President Trump and Mr. Netanyahu and a flurry of meetings in recent days between top administration officials and senior Israeli officials,” the daily said.

Trump said on Sunday that there could be “something good” coming about his effort to limit Iran’s nuclear program in the “next two days.”

Others familiar with the negotiations said that at best there would be a declaration of some common principles. The details under discussion remain closely held and would likely only set the stage for further negotiations, starting with whether Iran could continue to enrich uranium at any level, and how it would dilute its stockpiles of near-bomb-grade fuel or ship them out of the country.

The New York Times reported in April that Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as this month but was waved off by Trump, who wanted to keep negotiating with Tehran. Netanyahu, however, has continued to press for military action without U.S. assistance.

Netanyahu has argued that “Iran’s vulnerability will not last long, and that the time is right for an attack,” the NYT said, with Trump arguing that Iran’s weakness makes it a perfect moment to negotiate an end to Iran’s enrichment program, backed up by the threat of military action if talks fall apart.

“Israeli officials fear Mr. Trump is now so eager for a deal of his own — one he will try to sell as stronger than the one the Obama administration struck in 2015 — that he will allow Iran to keep its uranium enrichment facilities,” the newspaper said.

Asked for comment, White House officials pointed to Trump’s remarks this weekend, when he said he would “love to see no bombs dropped.”

U.S. intelligence has estimated that Israel could prepare to mount an attack on Iran in as little as seven hours, leaving little time to pressure Netanyahu into calling it off.

But that same American military assessment raised questions about how effective a unilateral Israeli strike would be without American support. And some Israeli officials close to Netanyahu believe the U.S. would have no choice but to assist Israel militarily if Iran counterattacked.

Israeli officials have told their American counterparts that Netanyahu could order a strike on Iran even if a successful diplomatic agreement is reached, the New York Times said.

“After his White House meeting with Trump in April, Netanyahu ordered Israeli national security officials to continue planning for a strike on Iran, including a smaller operation that would not require U.S. assistance,” according to multiple people briefed on the matter. Israel already has many different plans on the shelf, ranging from the surgical to days and days of bombing Iranian facilities, including some in crowded cities.